WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, Congressmembers Rob Menendez (NJ-08), LaMonica McIver (NJ-10), and Bonnie Watson Coleman (NJ-12) introduced the No Delay for Immigrant Oversight Act. The introduction coincides with the one-year anniversary of Menendez, McIver, and Watson Coleman’s confrontation with over 20 armed ICE and HSI agents at Delaney Hall. The No Delay for Immigration Oversight Act would protect the necessary congressional oversight Trump’s administration has worked to criminalize by tightening regulations on ICE and DHS.
“I am proud to stand with my friends and colleagues, Reps. McIver and Watson Coleman in leading this legislation to protect congressional oversight of immigrant detention centers across the country,” said Congressman Menendez. “Since we faced down over 20 armed ICE and HSI officers at Delaney Hall last year, this Administration has repeatedly and illegally blocked Members of Congress from visiting detention centers. We are taking action to protect our communities, to end this Administration’s lawlessness, and to shine a light on the horrific conditions at Delaney Hall and immigrant detention centers across the country.”
“A year ago, ICE tried to stop me from exposing the cruel treatment, inhumane abuse, and their reckless lack of accountability—believing they could sweep their actions under the rug. Since then, the atrocities have only gotten worse. This has been ICE’s deadliest year in 30 years and the nation is calling for action,” said Congresswoman McIver. “That’s why I’m introducing this bill to reaffirm the people’s right to have someone speak up for the voiceless, go where others are not allowed, uncover the abuses that we know take place in the dark, and stop the brutality against our immigrant neighbors. I am proud to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Reps. Watson Coleman and Menendez to stand up for people at Delaney Hall and nationwide.”
“ICE is not the private army of any president or administration,” said Congresswoman Watson Coleman. “They are federal law enforcement; they are supposed to work for the American people and be accountable to them. Nothing should be happening inside an ICE facility that would require secrecy or concealment from the American people. The continued effort of DHS and ICE to prevent, delay, and obstruct oversight at facilities is unacceptable, and with this legislation, those contractors who fail to uphold the law will be held liable."
This bill will permanently codify the existing right of members of Congress to conduct oversight of ICE and DHS. This right exists implicitly in Congress’s oversight prerogative of the executive branch, and explicitly in a 2019 appropriations rider. As the Trump administration continues to try to obstruct this right, dismantle it, and criminalize this legal prerogative, The No Delay for Immigration Oversight Act would protect it permanently.
In 2025, ICE recorded the deadliest year for people in its detention facilities in the past three decades. Immediate access to detention centers for oversight purposes is critical to ensure those tasked with oversight are seeing the facility conditions as they truly are, not as the facade those in charge may seek to present. A 2020 Homeland Security Committee Report on ICE facilities “failing to meet basic standards of care” found that “as a result of this advance notice, facilities took steps to prepare for the visit by improving conditions.”
The No Delay for Immigration Oversight Act would:
The text of the No Delay for Immigrant Oversight Act can be viewed here.
Since coming to Congress, Rob Menendez has been a leader on fighting for immigrant rights and on oversight of detention centers. He previously led the New Jersey Democratic delegation in a letter demanding that DHS halt ICE’s warehouse detention plan in Roxbury. An initiative created by Congressman Menendez has united thousands of New Jerseyans in opposition to the Roxbury warehouse.
Congressman Menendez has repeatedly called for the closure of all immigrant detention centers in New Jersey and has conducted several unannounced visits of Delaney Hall and the Elizabeth Detention Center. Menendez has also called for the end of ICE and led efforts to demand that ICE agents identify themselves when conducting enforcement operations. Earlier this year, Menendez was on the ground in Minnesota for a field hearing, listening to the testimony of victims of ICE and DHS’s abuses and state and local elected officials.
